Monday, February 13, 2017

1987 Off-Season

1987 Entry Draft

Although the 1987 PHL Entry Draft was not nearly as deep as
the ’86 Draft, there was still plenty of talent available. Calgary selected
American forward Drew Atwood number one. With a 1968 birthday, Atwood just
missed the age cut off in 1986, making him one of the oldest players in the
draft. He had already enjoyed a very productive year of college hockey, scoring
45 goals. The rest of the draft was dominated by defensemen. Twelve defensemen
were taken in the first round, half of the players selected. Quebec took the
top D-man, selecting tough, hard-hitting Scott Harrison, while New York also
selected their future franchise defenseman, Ryan Evans. One of the more
interesting picks was Milwaukee’s Syong Li, the PHL’s first player of Asian
descent. Li’s parents were refugees from Korea during the Korean War living in
Montreal, where Li was born in 1969.

1.Calgary – Drew Atwood, F, USA

2.Quebec – Scott Harrison, D, CAN

3.New York – Ryan Evans, D, CAN

4.Denver – Brett Norris, F, USA

5.Toronto – Trevor Hudson, D, CAN

6.California – Marcus Ohlsson, F, SWE

7.Ottawa – Luke Baker, D, CAN

8.Edmonton – Brent Caldwell, D, CAN

9.Montreal – Daniel Herder, F, GER

10.Detroit – Travis Lindsay, F, USA

11.Minnesota – Jared Morton, D, USA

12.Vancouver – Mats Carlsson, D, SWE

13.Washington – Jarri Kaila, F, FIN

14.Boston – Nick Boyd, F, CAN

15.LA – Clifford Dexter, D, USA

16.Winnipeg – Josh Powell, G, USA

17.Long Island – Daniel Ostrom, D, SWE

18.Philadelphia – Kevin Peters, F, CAN

19.Milwaukee – Syong Li, F, CAN

20.Chicago – Carl Leblanc, D, CAN

21.Nova Scotia – Jake Meyer, D, CAN

22.Seattle – Jeff Poole, D, USA

23.Pittsburgh – Darryl Goodwin, F, USA

24.St. Louis – Sheldon Cox, F, CAN

Notable Retirements:

Freddie Huff – D,
NYC, 1968 – 1987

For nearly two decades, Freddie Huff served as the heart and
soul of the New York Civics. When the Civics drafted Huff second overall in
1968, they were not a playoff team. Huff led the team to the Lewis Cup finals
twice in 1973 and ’75, leading them to victory in 1975. Huff retires as one of
the highest-scoring defensemen in PHL history.

Kirk Saunders – F,
DET, 1968 – 1987

Another superstar from the famously deep inaugural entry
draft in 1968, Kirk Saunders made an immediate impact on the Detroit Mustangs,
helping them to two consecutive Lewis Cups in his first two seasons. As his
career went on, Saunders became a leader in Detroit as the Mustangs became one
of the PHL’s most powerful dynasties through the early ‘70s. In the latter half
of his career, Saunders became a valuable leader and mentor to Detroit’s
younger players.

Denis Carter – G, LA,
QUE, 1969-1987

Denis Carter was drafted by the Wizards as they entered the
PHL in the 1969 merger with the Global league. Carter eventually became one of
the best goaltenders in the league, backstopping the LA dynasty during the late
1970s. Carter finished his career in Quebec, serving in a tandem with talented
young goalie John Gage.

Tim Douglas – F, WPG,
MTL, 1969 – 1987

The first franchise player the Pioneers ever had, Tim
Douglas played a key role in turning Winnipeg from a lowly expansion team in
the late ‘60s, to division winners by 1971. Unfortunately, Douglas never managed
to win a championship in Winnipeg. Douglas was traded to Montreal in 1977, where
he spent the remainder of his career.

Notable Trades

Seattle trades F Kyle
Gray to Toronto in exchange for F Ted Lovell.

The Grey Wolves establish themselves as a primary Lewis Cup
contender with the addition of veteran Lovell. Toronto adds a solid prospect in
Gray.

Bids were formally submitted for expansion beginning in
January, 1987. By June, the league had received official bids from eight cities
including Kansas City, Miami, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Houston, Atlanta,
Portland, and Oakland. The city of Hamilton had also been pursuing a franchise,
but without a prospective owner to front the bid, they were forced to back out.
Deputy Commissioner Darryl Byrd would oversee the expansion committee beginning
on July 1, 1987.

Former Montreal Royale head coach Jacques Corbet finally
found a new job after two years of unemployment, signing with the Pittsburgh
Stingers following Bob King’s retirement. After a disappointingly slow rebuild,
Boston fired coach/GM Bill Truman, replacing him with former college coach Gary
Shantz and GM Bob Canton.

In Halifax, Claymores owner Jim MacDonald made an official
request to the city of Halifax and the province of Nova Scotia for funding for
a new arena. The Claymores have played in the 13,000-seat Barrington Arena
since their inception in 1959. At the start of the summer, Commissioner Alan
Garcia stated that several PHL teams would need new arenas in the very near
future.